BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2007 The Rays sign reliever Troy Percival (3-0, 1.80) to an $8 million, two-year deal. The 38-year-old right-hander, who came out of retirement last season to make 34 appearances for the Cardinals, is a major upgrade to Tampa Bay's beleaguered bullpen.

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2007 Not allowing his agent Scott Boras to broker the best free-agent deal available, Kenny Rogers represents himself in negotiations, signing an $8 million, one-year contract to return to the Tigers for a third season. The 43-year-old southpaw posted a 3-4 record with a 4.43 ERA in an injury-shortened season after leading Detroit to a World Series the previous year.

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2007 The Mets trade highly-touted prospect Lastings Milledge to the Nationals in exchange for fly chaser Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider. Although the transaction helps New York fill its immediate needs behind the plate and in the outfield, the trade appears to favor Washington due to Milledge's perceived potential.

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2009 The Angels vote to give a full postseason share to the estate of Nick Adenhart, the rookie pitcher who died in a hit-and-run car accident in April, a few hours after pitching six shutout innings in his first start of the season. The Halo players who lost the ALCS to the Yankees earned an additional $138,039 due to their playoff appearance.

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2009 Sports Illustrated names Derek Jeter as its Sportsman of the Year, making the 'Captain' the first Yankee honored by the magazine. The other baseball recipients to win the award, given annually since SI's inception in 1954, includes Johnny Podres (Dodgers - 1955), Stan Musial (Cardinals - 1957), Sandy Koufax (Dodgers - 1965), Tom Seaver (Mets - 1969), Pete Rose (Reds - 1975), Orel Hershiser (Dodgers - 1988), Cal Ripken Jr. (Orioles - 1995), Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (Cardinals, Cubs - 1998), Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (Diamondbacks - 2001), and the entire Red Sox team (2004).

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2009 The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center names infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen as the 2009 Hutch Award recipient for best exemplifying the honor, courage, and dedication of former major leaguer and skipper Fred Hutchinson, who died from cancer in 1964. Recently traded by the Royals, the 28-year-old was a principal spokesman and fundraiser for the Kansas City YMCA Challenger Baseball program, a Little League division that provides children with physical or mental challenges the opportunity to play ball on specially designed diamonds.

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2009 TBS spokesman Jeff Pomeroy confirms Chip Caray,who just completed his third season as the lead play-by-play announcer, and the network have decided to part ways. Already scrutinized for being too subjective during postseason play-by-play, the son of the beloved late Braves broadcaster Skip Caray and the grandson of the legendary play-by-play announcer Harry Caray has also been criticized for miscalling plays and sharing misinformation.

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2010 The Dodgers and free agent Juan Uribe agree to a three-year, $21 million deal to play second base for the team. The enthusiastic and versatile 31-year-old Dominican infielder gives new manager Don Mattingly more options at shortstop and third base.

2010 Troy Tulowitzki and the Rockies agree to a seven-year extension that guarantees the All-Star infielder $157.75 million until 2020. The 26-year-old Gold Glove shortstop's contract is now the eighth richest in baseball history.

2012 Mark and Cindy Hill of Dearborn (MO), big Kansas City Royals fans, say they randomly selected the numbers after being presented with an oversized check for $293,750,000, their share of one of the two $192 million Powerball jackpots. At first, reports indicated the six winning numbers chosen came from the uniform numbers of Royals greats: George Brett (No. 5), Mark Gubicza (No. 23), Bo Jackson (No. 16), Dennis Leonard (No. 22), Dan Quisenberry (No. 29), and Willie Wilson (No. 6).

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The Boys of Summer in 1943. (Standing) Duffy Lewis, Eddie Collins, Roger Bresnahan, Connie Mack, Bill Klem, Red Murray, George Sisler. (Kneeling) Honus Wagner, Frankie Frisch, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker.
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Carl Yastrzemski slides across the plate, Joe Azcue reaches to make the tag, but he was too late
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Kansas City #Royals rookie Bo Jackson collects his first major league hit - an infield single vs. Chicago #WhiteSox pitcher Steve Carlton! (1986)
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“Goose Gossage loved him. Because Dick talked to him about pitching, ‘You've got a fastball everybody can hit, especially left-handers. You've got to knock these guys down.’ And that's what turned Gossage into, when he went to New York, to what he was."
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"He was faster than Wills, Brock & Mantle when Mickey had good legs. He was faster than Bo Jackson& Lofton. Baserunning isn’t only about speed. It’s about technique, cutting the corners & keeping your balance. And Cool Papa, he was a master of all that.” Buck O`Neil

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December Baseball Birthdays 12/1
1911 Calvin Griffith, Canadian baseball team owner (Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1955-84), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1999)

1911-1984 Walter Alston


1912 Cookie Lavagetto, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1938-41; Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers) and manager (Washington Senators 1957-61), born in Oakland, California (d. 1990)


1917 Marty Marion, shortstop and manager (MLB All-Star 1943–50; NL MVP 1944; St. Louis Cardinals), born in Richburg, South Carolina (d. 2011)


1948 George Foster left fielder (MLB All Star 1976-79, 81; NL MVP 1977; Cincinnati Reds), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama


1966 Larry Walker HOF right fielder (NL MVP 1997; NL batting champion 1998, 99, 2001; 5 x MLB All Star; 7 x Gold Glove; Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies), born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia


1967 Reggie Sanders outfielder, 1991-2007, All-Star 1995; World Series 2001 (Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and 6 other teams), born in Florence, South Carolina


1992 Javier Báez infielder (MLB All Star 2018-19; Chicago Cubs), born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico

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This Day in Baseball History December 1st​

1953 The Senators trade Jackie Jensen to the Red Sox for 18-game-winner Maury McDermott and outfielder Tom Umphlett. The Californian 'Golden Boy' will win the American League Most Valuable Player award playing for Boston in 1958, but his promising career ends a few years later due to his fear of flying.

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1954 The Yankees and Orioles complete the largest trade in major league history when 17 players, including Don Larsen, Gene Woodling, and Bob Turley, change teams. The first phase of the transaction began on November 18 and will conclude today after the major league draft.

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1955 Virgil Trucks returns to the Tigers in a trade for White Sox third baseman Bubba Phillips. The 38-year-old right-handed 'Fire's fastball has lost its blaze, and the right-hander will post a 6-5 record in his one-year return engagement with Detroit.

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1956 Reds outfielder Frank Robinson, who was not on the team's roster in spring training, is unanimously elected by the BBWAA as the National League Rookie of the Year. The 21-year-old freshman, the circuit's starting All-Star left fielder, hit 38 home runs, tying Wally Berger's 1930 record for the most trippers by a first-year player.

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1956 Future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio is selected as the American League Rookie of the Year, beating out Indian right fielder Rocky Colavito and Oriole outfielder/first baseman Tito Francona. The 22-year-old White Sox shortstop led the American League with 21 stolen bases.

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1961 Red Sox freshman hurler Don Schwall is selected as the American League Rookie of the Year. The 25-year-old right-hander, who managed to get on the All-Star team despite making his big league debut on May 21, compiled a 15-7 record for a sixth-place team that finished ten games under .500.

Spahn & Schwall

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1964 The Colt .45's become officially known as the Astros, an appropriate name given the team's proximity to Houston's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Due to a dispute with the firearm company, a three-year-old expansion franchise needed to change the club's name.

1965 The Pirates trade catcher Ozzie Virgil and pitcher Joe Gibbon to the Giants for outfielder Matty Alou. The 26-year-old Dominican flycatcher, who hit a meager .231 with San Francisco last year, will capture the National League batting crown next season with a .342 average.

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1965 The A's get Joe Rudi, lost as a first-year waiver pick to the Indians in May, back from the Tribe, trading Jim Landis and Jim Rittwage to Cleveland for the return of the 19-year-old highly-touted prospect, along with backup catcher Phil Roof. The future Gold Glove left fielder will play a key role in world championship teams during the early '70s in Oakland.

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1966 The Dodgers trade a stunned and heartbroken Maury Wills to the Pirates for Bob Bailey and Gene Michael. The base-stealing shortstop, the NL's 1962 MVP, will return to LA in 1969 when dealt by the expansion Expos for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich.

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1970 The White Sox trade Luis Aparicio to the Red Sox in exchange for infielders Mike Andrews and Luis Alvarado. Boston's acquisition of the future Hall of Fame shortstop shifts All-Star Rico Petrocelli, with his consent, from short to third base.

LUIS
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RICO
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1970 The Orioles acquire Pat Dobson and Tom Dukes from the Padres for Fred Beene (who returned to San Diego in May), Enzo Hernandez, Tom Phoebus, and Al Severinsen. The right-hander joins Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, and Mike Cuellar in Baltimore's "Four Leaf Clover" pitching staff, the first rotation in more than 50 years to have four 20-game winners.

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1971 The Cubs announce Ernie Banks will serve as a coach next season, ending the infielder's 19-year major league Hall of Fame career. 'Mr. Cub', the team's first black player, won back-to-back MVP awards in 1958-59, and in 1999 was named to Major League Baseball's All-Century Team.

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1983 "You're sitting behind home and first. We'll be between first and third." - LOU WHITAKER, telling Magnum, and double-play partner Alan Trammell, where they'll be sitting at tomorrow's Tigers game.
Playing themselves, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker make a cameo appearance on the hit show Magnum PI. After the private detective, portrayed by Tom Sellack, complains at a bar about missing the homestand's last game, the team's double-play tandem, who he doesn't recognize, gives him a business card, which are tickets for the sold-out game.

1987 Former Indian outfielder Brett Butler signs a two-year, $1.8 million free-agent deal with the Giants. The 31-year-old leadoff hitter, who will play a vital role when San Francisco captures the NL pennant in 1989, replaces Chili Davis, who signed with the Angels, as the team's centerfielder.

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1989 Mark Langston reaches an agreement with the Angels on a five-year contract worth $16 million, making the left-handed pitcher the latest highest-paid player in baseball history. The 29-year-old free agent, who had a combined 16-14 record with the Mariners and Expos last season, rejected Montreal's three-year, $9 million offer last summer that would have made him the first major leaguer to have averaged $3 million a season.

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1998 The Mets sign 31-year-old Gold Glove third baseman Robin Ventura (.263, 21, 91) to a four-year, 32 million dollar free-agent deal. The former White Sox infielder joins two-time Gold Glove shortstop Rey Ordonez, second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, and first baseman John Olerud to make up one of the best fielding infields in history, according to Sports Illustrated.

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1998 Due to the acquisition of All-Star backstop Mike Piazza, the Mets deal fan favorite Todd Hundley, along with right-hander Arnold Gooch, to the Dodgers for outfielder Roger Cedeno and catcher Charles Johnson. New York then sends Johnson to Baltimore to obtain closer Armando Benitez.

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1998 Orioles' first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, bypassing his agent and making the deal himself, signs a $45 million, five-year contract with the Rangers. The 33-year-old All-Star corner infielder, who turned down a more substantial offer from Baltimore, returns to Texas, the team he left five seasons ago to join the Birds.

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2000 Turk Wendell, who wears uniform number 99, agrees to a three-year deal worth $9,999,999.99 with the Mets. The New York reliever had asked that his pact include an option year in which he would play for free, but that plan was unworkable because baseball's collective bargaining agreement sets a $200,000 minimum salary.

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2011 The Red Sox introduce Bobby Valentine as the team's new manager at a news conference covered by approximately 100 members of the media, many of them from the New York papers and broadcast outlets. Boston announces the 61-year-old skipper, who hasn't managed since being fired by the Mets in 2002, agreed to a two-year deal, having options for 2014 and 2015.

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2021 Max Scherzer and the Mets agree on a three-year, $130 million contract, making the right-hander's $43.3 million annual average the most in major league history. The 37-year-old joins Jacob deGrom at the top of the rotation giving the team a formidable one-two punch, with the two hurlers copping five Cy Young Awards between them, including four of the last six in the National League.

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Montreal #Expos rookie Larry Walker hits his first major league HR in a game vs. New York #Mets pitcher Ron Darling at Shea Stadium! (1990) happy 57th Birthday Larry
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100 Years Ago: New York #Yankees star Babe Ruth & team owner Col. Jacob Ruppert (Baseball Magazine - December 1923)
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Mickey checking all the phone numbers he got after batting practice.
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